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Hooray for split 7" records! Clairecords has graced my reviewer's ears with an accessable combination of guitar-based acts, the Electro Group and St. Avalanche.
Electro Group's side of the record starts of with a temporarily offsetting few seconds of keyboards and spacy sounds. That quickly dissapates into "Trauma," a crisp-through-intentional-fuzziness number that sounds like early 90s Brit-rock. The mix here is awesome, as the bass is given just as much attention as the guitars, leading to a very full and (for lack of a better word) boombastic sound. In a few spots, the bass/guitar combo sounds eerily reminiscient of Dinosaur Jr's You're Living All Over Me album. The instrumental "Mezzoforte," however, does a complete 180 from the previous song by floating along on a soft electronic bed with occasional piano/keyboard flourishes. This instrumental is actually very nice, but it comes off like an incomplete thought, like it was meant to be part of a bigger musical entity. Still, though, the song is a pleasant enough musical distraction for what it is. St. Avalanche doesn't bother with the instrumental stuff, though the band does open its side of the 7" with the oddball, barely 60-second refrain known as, "Sun Monk and the Thunder Carp." The female vocals are cute, repeating the vocal refrain over a chugging, hypnotic rhythm section that manages to sound very minimal, although there are easily five or six distinct things going on musically (guitar parts, keyboard licks, multiple vocal rounds, etc). "Airforcing" is another cute (though completely fleshed-out) track, driven by a keyboard riff and some crunching guitar drop-ins. The guy/girl vocal parts are cool (the female vocals sound almost angelic when backign the male parts), and man oh man, this song is NOISY, garage-o-rama style. I have to give props to the packaging for this 7" as well, as folding out the sleeve and holding it up to a light exposes a facsimilie of an x-ray of someone's pet schnauzer (named Charley, according to the tag on the x-ray). Funny stuff. As for the 7" itself - yeah. I'm a bit puzzled by the startling difference between Electro Group's tracks, but despite that, everything both bands contributes is pretty cute. This here record is a fun little listen, indeed. reviewed by: Gary Blackwell for Delusions of Adequacy |
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This is a very promising 7" from Sacramento-based Clairecords. It features two bands from their town, although Electro Group is the only Sacramento band I have ever heard of before. In fact, i really enjoyed Electro Groups 2000 release A New Pacifica, which was a pleasant post-shoegazer pop album. Here are two new songs from the boys, and they do not disappoint.
The first of their two tracks, Trauma, is a fast-paced flurry of guitars with charming singing overtop. A good pop song. The second tune, Mezzoforte, is more experimental. It is a lightly constructed cascade of piano and echoed guitar given a very light IDM-ish touch. It is, in fact, a very nice ambient number. The second side of this split is given to St. Avalanche, a band i had never heard of, but who are apparently into the "rock n roll lifestyle" seeing as on the liner notes they thank "St. Avalanche, for holding thier alcohol so well and never once OD-ing". Oh my. Their first number here, Sun Monk and Thundercarp is a light twee-ish piece with female vocals. It's pleasant enough. The second tune, Air Forcing is a glorious mess of a tune. It's mixed odd too -- organ is prominant in the right channel, while overdriven guitar whirls away on the left. Drums and voice appear to be centered, and the drums are played in a primitive, loud thudding manner (think of the drums in Heroin by The Velvet Underground). An interesting mix idea, and the song overall sounds, well, like a 60's garage rock piece gone slightly awry. I actually like it... So the music here is pretty nice. One word of warning: stamped on the record is "45rpm", while the music actually plays at 33 rpm. I first put it on at 45, and i sat there thinking, "When did Electro Group go twee? Man, they really need to lay off the speed." Then i slowed it down and everything sounded perfect. An annoying typo.... I would recommend this release to fans of quirky pop. Since it's a 7", it should be pretty cheap, and it's a good way to hear some interesting tunes. reviewed by: EvilSponge |
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My memories of living in Sacramento aren't fond, and apart from a select few groups (namely My Cat Geoffrey and Geli Raubal), I've never been too excited about the town's music scene. Clairecords is changing my mind with this split 7", which teams a couple of Northern California's best bands. The A-side begins with the Electro Group's "Trauma". Just as you grow accustomed to the intro's mellow soundscape, the band launches into old school college rock a la Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. Two minutes of high energy gnashing later, we're back to atmospheric synthy gurgles, Moog melodies and delay-to-heaven guitars for "Mezzoforte".
The flipside features St. Avalanche's "Son Monk & Thunder Carp", a laid-back track that's a million miles away from side A: cheap-ass sampler "doo doo" melodies, a stoner groove and vocal harmonies that recall early Breeders -- what else would you expect from a band that thanks "narcotics, alcohol and drugs" and "St. Avalanche for holding their liquor and never OD-ing" in the liner notes? It sounds a bit French for some reason that I can't put my finger on, and that vibe continues with the bouncy organ and backbeat opening of "Air Forcing". I guess Clairecords are converting one Sacramento skeptic at a time. reviewed by: Dave Madden for Splendid |
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